This website uses cookies to help you get the most out of your experience during your visit, and we can improve the content served to you by collecting statistical information. If you have allowed cookies in the settings of your web browser and you continue to use our website, you agree. For more information, please read our Privacy Policy.

Orthopaedic Reconstruction

Smith & Nephew is a world leader in joint replacement systems for knees, hips and shoulders.

Whether through extending the life and functionality of implants, improving operating room efficiency, or promoting faster healing and other clinical outcomes, our innovations differentiate us and provide solutions to active patients seeking to regain their quality of life while enhancing economic value for all of our customers.

Smith & Nephew implants include hip, knee and shoulder joints as well as ancillary products such as bone cement.

Knee implants

Smith & Nephew offers an innovative range of products for specialised knee replacement procedures. It is a routine operation for knee pain most commonly caused by arthritis. Every year more than two million patients receive total, partial or revision knee replacements.

Our knee systems include the LEGION◊/GENESIS◊ II Total Knee System a comprehensive system designed to allow surgeons to address a wide range of knee procedures from primary to revision and our JOURNEY◊ II Active Knee Solutions. JOURNEY II has been engineered to empower patients with a renewed active lifestyle by breaking through traditional knee replacement barriers and delivering function, motion and durability through PHYSIOLOGICAL MATCHING◊.

Our knee systems also use our VISIONAIRE◊Patient-Matched Instrumentation. With VISIONAIRE Instrumentation, a patient's MRI and X-rays are used to create customised cutting guides that allow the surgeon to achieve optimal mechanical axis alignment of the new implant. VISIONAIRE cutting guides also help to save time by reducing the number of procedural steps and instruments used in the operating room.

In early 2016 we completed the acquisition of Blue Belt Technologies, securing a leading position in the fast-growing area of orthopaedic robotics assisted surgery. Blue Belt Technologies' Navio® surgical system provides robotics assistance in partial knee replacement surgery.

Hip implants

Our hip implant franchise offers a range of specialist products for reconstruction of the hip joint. This may be necessary due to conditions such as arthritis, causing persistent pain, and/ or as a result of hip fracture. Every year more than two million patients undergo total, resurfacing and revision hip replacement procedures.

This diversity exemplifies our commitment to providing surgeons with implant and instrumentation options that meet the specific demands of their preferred surgical approach, most notably the direct anterior or posterolateral approach.

Smith & Nephew's portfolio includes the REDAPT◊ Revision Femoral System. The need to perform a revision can occur for a variety of reasons including infection, dislocation, or failure of the implants to achieve biologic fixation. REDAPT turns such complex hip revisions into efficient, reproducible surgeries, allowing surgeons to effectively recreate a patient's unique functionality, while quickly and easily addressing issues such as poor bone quality.

Bearing surfaces

The Orthopaedics business uses a range of bearing surfaces in its implant systems, including its proprietary OXINIUM◊ Technology. Oxidized Zirconium, branded OXINIUM, combines the enhanced wear resistance of a ceramic bearing with the superior durability of a metallic bearing to provide a surface that is 4,900 times more wear resistant than cobalt chrome. When OXINIUM Technology is combined with highly cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) to create VERILAST Technology, the results are even greater. In fact, the LEGION Primary Knee with VERILAST Technology, is the only knee system with a 30-year wear performance claim approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - more than double the performance expectation for wear compared to conventional technologies.